Alex Steeves knew that he had to set himself apart from his teammates to make a good impression in his latest NHL stint, and on Saturday night, he did just that.

With Calle Jarnkrok and Connor Dewar both on the cusp of returning from injury, you can make the argument that there’s never been more of an uphill battle for Steeves to make some noise in the lineup and try to earn himself a spot. But, despite all of the looming returns and being limited to fourth-line minutes, the current all-time leading scorer for the Toronto Marlies scored his first NHL goal on his first shift and tallied an assist, as well.

I single out Steeves here, but it wasn’t just him. Pontus Holmberg scored two goals and added an assist for his first multi-point effort of the season, while David Kampf scored his fourth goal of the season with assists from Steeves and Steven Lorentz. Head coach Craig Berube insinuated prior to the team’s first game back since the 4 Nations Face-Off that Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner would have their minutes limited when applicable, and the depth scorers understood the assignment.

“They’ve been playing for sure. Timing and things like that are all set for them,” Berube said. “Just the emotion and the mental and  physical toughness that was put into those games, especially the last one. I expect them to be fine tonight. We’ll manage them the best we can, see how they look and how they’re feeling.”

John Tavares scored the fourth goal of the game to get the core players in on the fun, and despite the Hurricanes making things interesting near the end of the game with three goals scored in less than two minutes, to bring them within one goal, Matthews and Holmberg each potted an empty netter. It was a big goal for Matthews specifically, bringing him into second place on the Leafs’ all-time goal list, tied with Darryl Sittler with 389 apiece. He needs 32 more goals to pass Mats Sundin for sole possession of first place on the list, but that’s looking like more of a next-season accomplishment.

Anthony Stolarz’s statline doesn’t look as flattering after that quick outburst of offence from Carolina, but he was rock solid and gave the Leafs no reason to worry, even when Carolina pressed. Their second and third goals came in the form of some lucky bounces, so it shouldn’t shake his confidence at all.

The Leafs will now travel to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks with Joseph Woll projected to start.